Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-07-21
THE REsuRRECTIONIsT CABBY
How a British Cabby Earned a
Title from His Brother Jchus.

How a British Cabby Earned q
Title from His Brother Jchus.
"But the rummiest start l ever die
hear Of" said the patriarchal driver
"was that which caused a cabman
who is dead now, to be known as the
'resurrectionist.' He was day man
and was going home about IL O'Clock
with his four-wheeler, and had stop
ped for last drink at a public house,
where a man who was at the bar
spoke to him. The man said
he was in trouble. He had lost a
child, and being out of employ
ment he had no means of burying it,
and of all things he was anxious to
avoid the disgrace of having it buried
by the parish. He had managed to
buy coffin, he said, and his idea was
to take it at nighttime to some ceme-
terry and bury it himself in consecrated
ground. And if you are agreeable to
take me and the little box as far as
the cemetery he says, 4 will
willingly give you crown for your
trouble. / would carry it there my
self, only it might be awkward if l
was stopped with coffin in my pos
session."
1T was queer kind of job, but the
cabman had had bad luck all day, and
it was five shillings easy earned, and
he agreed 'on condition the coffin was
only little one.' 'She was only nine
months old when she died, pretty
creeter,' said the chap, wiping his
eyes with his coat cuff, and small at
that So the cabman stayed at the
corner, and presently the chap
came back with the little coffin
in black bag and with u
garden spade hid under his coat.
They drove to the cemetery and round
to the back part of it, and the chap,
having put the spade and the coffin
over the palings, climbed over himself.
He wasn't very long gone, and when
he returned he gave the cabman a
crown. Il shan't ride back with you,
says he, the job has upset my nerves
and shall be the better for walk.
$50 he went off, and the cabman,
beginning by this time to think there
was something wrong about the busi-
ness, took one of his lamps and looked
into the cab, and there on the mat
was lady's gold necklet, new, and
with the shop ticket still on it, and an
odd earring as well, which was slso
new. He was quite sure now that
there was something wrong, and
after having short drive round
while he thought it over,
he came back to the cemetery pal
ings, and got over at the same spot the
chap had, taking a lamp with him, and
found as he had expected that it was
easy to trace the footsteps in the soft
earth from the place where the chap
had jumped. and he traced on till
they came to an end, and then he
kicked up the loose soil, and hardly
a foot deep was the little coffin buried
in the bag. As soon as he
lifted it he was made aware by
clinking sound inside that he was not
far out in his suspicious, and without
staying to open it to see he drives with
it straight to the police station, and
there it was found that it contained
more than G700 worth Of jewelry that
had been stolen from a shop at the west
end few nights before. And the chap
got took on the cabman's description
of him and received seven years, and
the cabman, who was ever after
known as the 'resurrectionist,' got
E100 from the jeweler. And there is
no doubt the money was the death of
him." said the narrator when, the
meeting breaking up, we all rose to
take our leave. 'It got him into
drinking habits, and he never got out
of 'em till they settled him. ."-[Liver-
pool Courier.